⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Let me start by saying I’m not a romantasy girly as I am a thriller/horror girl at my core. The cover drew me in, and I’m a sucker for any story involving Lilith. I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did, but it completely blew me away!

This was my first book by Scarlett St. Clair, and I am so impressed! The writing is immersive, the pacing kept me hooked, and the world building felt dark and fresh without getting me lost. Lilith is such a strong and layered character that you can’t help but root for her & Zahariev was equally compelling in so many ways. Their chemistry was magnetic without overshadowing the plot. Did I mention their chemistry?!

The audiobook made me love this story that much more. Both narrators brought the characters to life exactly in the way you want to happen in an audiobook!

I knew going in this was book one, so I was prepared for the cliffhanger, but that didn’t stop me from yelling when it ended. I’m fully invested and already impatient for the next one! I’ll be picking up the author’s backlist. Perhaps I’m
entering my romantasy era!?

Thank you NetGalley & Tantor Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This....... This is how you do urban fantasy right! It would have been a 5-star read if not for the religious beliefs and the mention of a real religion (Christianity) which I disagree with - I'm not Christian. People who liked "These Violent Delights" by Chloe Gong will absolutely love this!

Also the narration is fantastic either the female or the male narrator they're both so suitable for their roles 💕

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕮𝖑𝖔𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖗 𝕸𝖔𝖉𝖎𝖋𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

SKIP CHAPTER: 14, 20, 21

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

My flabbers are gasted! This is the fastest I've been approved!! I mean under a minute! That's crazy! thank you Netgalley and Tantor Audio 🫶🏻🫶🏻

4✨
.ೃ࿐ my thoughts

The vibes were 10/10

Generally, Scarlett St. Clair is a hit-or-miss author for me. While I enjoyed the Adrian x Isolde books, her Hades x Persephone series wasn’t for me. But this was such a good book!

I liked the relationship between Lilith and Zahariev; it felt very realistic and the complicated family ties made a lot of sense throughout the story. I also loved how we got snippets of their relationship from before the story started.

I was a bit confused by the world/magic, and it wasn’t explained very well, which left me feeling confused during parts of the story. Some of the explanation didn’t come until part 2, and at that point, it felt a bit late for worldbuilding. For me, this would have been a 5-star read if the magic/world had been explained better and at an earlier point in the story.

The hype is definitely worth is and I cannot wait for the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

What a book - I think this might be my favourite book from Scarlett St. Clair yet!

I love the angsty, darker vibes of this story. The world-building and writing was amazing.

I adored the slow burn romance Lilith and Zahariev , the chapters from Zahariev POV were my favourite!

I am so excited for more from this world.

The narrators were amazing and this had me absolutely hooked.

I loved this book. Let me start by saying the narration was PERFECT (except for one thing but we’ll get to that). Laura Horowitz absolutely killed it. The voice for Lilith sounded just like Meg from a Hercules and I was living for it.

Lilith is one of my favorite FMCs lately, I loved being inside her head. She’s was just such a fun character to follow. Zahariev was interesting, honestly not the most developed MMC but I was in love with Lilith enough that I did not pay as much attention to him. He’s a large protective man with gray morals and that’s enough for me tbh.

The plot was intriguing and well done. I find that a lot of fantasy/retelling romances tend to have a plot but it’s very much on the back burner. That is not this book. The plot and romance are here in equal measure, probably a tad more on the plot side. But I enjoyed the ratio a lot. The ending was twisty and satisfying, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The spice was spicy and I had a lot of fun with it.

There’s romance, mystery, a touch of horror and a cute kitten side kick??? None of y’all better talk bad about Cherub. I ride for her.

Now there was one thing that I didn’t love. We get very small glimpses in Zahariev’s perspective at the end of each chapter… I could’ve done without this. Most didn’t add much for me. And Tristan Warden’s voice for Zahariev was not my favorite. I enjoyed the other voices by him but something about that one really didn’t work for me.

But all that being said I loved this book and I HIGHLY recommend it. If you do want to pick it up, some intense themes are discussed so please take care of yourself and check trigger warnings.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5

I had such a great time with this book! Huge thanks to RB Media for the audio ARC - I’ll listen to anything narrated by Laura Horowitz, and she absolutely delivered once again.

This story follows Lilith Leviathan, the estranged daughter of a powerful and infamous family, as she navigates a dark, magical world filled with secrets, power struggles, and prophecy.

Read if you like:
🖤 Found Family
🖤 Fierce FMC
🖤 Mafia + Paranormal Romance vibes
🖤 Thought-provoking religious commentary
🖤 Prophecies and destiny
🖤 A dash of magic
🖤 Slow ‘ish’ burn romance
🖤 Light patriarchal roasting 🫶


The world building was intriguing and it’s easy to follow, I found it incredibly easy to fall into the story. It strikes a great balance between fantasy and mafia romance. I’m more a fantasy/ romantasy reader and it was the perfect blend to suit me. One thing I really enjoyed was the religious commentary that was injected throughout the box. It was in your face but also made me stop and think.

Overall this is the perfect dark romance fantasy book to binge, I’m looking forward to the next book in the series and as I enjoyed the audio so much will definitely check out the audio again

Oh. My. Gooooods. I'm obsessed with this! I went in with no expectations and this exceeded everything. I love Lilith and Zahariev so much. And all the side characters? Amazing as well. I would have like a tiny bit more world building in the fact of how the families worked but I'm hoping it'll build in future books. And the narrators did such a good job. I loved how we only got a bit of Zahariev's POV at the very end of chapter. I seriously cannot wait for the next book.

I should have listened to it first. I received the ebook on here when it came out but wasn’t a huge fan. This was way better. I’m excited to see what happens next.

Underwhelmed.

Aside from a few jaw dropping moments during action scenes, not the spicy ones, I was underwhelmed. Somewhere around 70% I started wondering where is the plot going? It seemed so scattered which in the end did get come together but it was all just okay.

I was excited by the idea that women were the ones blessed with magic but aside from attributing that to women being breeding objects for the men I feel like we didn’t really get to see Lilith exhibit any power. She does try to take a stand for herself but she’s only ever successful with a male counterpart. I admire the effort but she just wasn’t a strong enough FMC for me.

Also, idk, the whole relationship with Zahariev.. I feel like I’ve associated Lilith with being such a strong/sultry/powerful character she threw herself at him basically every interaction and he had to fight himself from giving in (which of course he finally does) but I also think it would have been more fun if he was the one doing the pining.

Reminder to check your trigger warnings before starting!

As an audiobook the voice actor for Lilith was impeccable. Loved listening. However I also think maybe if I had read this it would have given me more of an impact? Not sure.

2.5 Stars for me… rounded up. Extra points because of the goop being inspired by Ferngully.

I feel like I have to preface this by saying that my only other experience with Scarlett St. Clair was her Hades/Persephone retelling, which I thought suffered from a weak plot and an unenjoyable heroine.

So, I went into this with lowered expectations, intrigued by the prospect of a story that wove in wider Christian mythology. I love stories centered around Lucifer, Lilith, Archangels, and all that, and this story obviously plays with that connection, its world fully anchored in those roots.

After finishing this, I’m feeling very meh on this. On the one hand, because I knew what to expect, my lowered expectations helped me enjoy this as a sort of trashy, unserious read. But, still, I didn’t enjoy it enough to rate it higher, because — damn — I really don’t feel like the author did anything with this book’s themes or plot.

It was just thoroughly mid, I’d say.

• World-building
It’s barely there. The author never really painted a picture of what exactly this world is that the characters exist in. There’s some setup — apparently it’s in the desert (mentioned once?) and it’s a seedy, dangerous city? The world is super misogynistic? Somehow Lilith is the daughter of a well-known family, an heir who needs to be married off? And Zahariev is too? But these factors are just thrown in and not really explored.

There’s also this whole weird subplot at the beginning with Zahariev being a club owner and Lilith wanting to dance for him, which is dropped quickly. It’s like the author was doing so much here and somehow nothing at all.

And this ties into the Christian mythology elements too — it all felt really hamfisted. The references to any of it seemed added more for aesthetic and vibes rather than being meaningfully woven into the plot or world-building. The wider mythology clearly took a backseat to the romance drama, and it ended up feeling shallow and underdeveloped.

• Feminist Themes(?)
I’m gonna be honest here… I don’t see where the feminist themes are. The FMC has a traumatic upbringing due to this world’s obvious and deeply embedded misogyny, but the author really does nothing else with it.

She’s constantly saying she fled her home to make her own way, to stand on her own… and yet in this story, it felt like she barely managed anything that didn’t end with her being saved by a male character.

She’s constantly surrounded, saved, helped, and coddled by either Zahariev or Gabriel. What exactly am I supposed to find feminist about this? I wouldn’t even mention it if the feminist angle weren’t explicitly mentioned in the blurb and used for marketing. Clearly, I’m supposed to find something feminist here? And it’s just not there.

• Characters
Lilith, the heroine, is a woman from a wealthy but oppressive family trying to make her own way, and she just… gave nothing. She keeps harping on about wanting to make it on her own, but as I mentioned before, this doesn’t actually happen.

It really felt like the author randomly dropped the reader into the middle of a story — there are all these connections and characters Lilith supposedly has deep backstories with, but it’s just not well communicated to the reader.

The other characters barely made an impact. The female background characters are basically ornaments in the story and don’t play significant, active roles. We’re told there’s a deep bond and friendship between them and Lilith, but most of the time it felt quite shallow and boring.

• Romance
Uninteresting. The FMC doesn’t hide how immediately thirsty she is around the MMC, and after the third or fourth time of her basically begging him to sleep with her, I wanted to stop reading about them.

The MMC was similarly wanting but hid it “for her protection” (ugh). It’s such a tired dynamic. I think I got even more annoyed when she kept denying that he obviously liked her, which every character in the story comments on and is obvious to absolutely everyone.

There was nothing compelling about their dynamic. She was basically a constant damsel in distress and he was the “Alpha nobody-touch-her” guy who kept his distance “for her own good.” They both clearly wanted each other, and there was no real tangible reason they weren’t together.

Since I didn’t care about them, their sex scenes didn’t do anything for me either. I guess they were sorta entertaining, but not much else.

• Dialogue
I have to mention this because I read parts of this and listened to the audiobook for other parts, and thus had to listen to narrators say these lines… Wow, was it cringy at times. Zahariev threw around the tired bad-boy Alpha lines left and right, and it squicked me out so much. And Gabriel calling her baby girl every other sentence grated on me — especially in the audiobook. It annoyed me so much.

• Audiobook / Narration
Totally apart from the story — the female narrator was great! I really have no complaints there. But the male narrator didn’t really match what I thought of the MMC. He seemed a little too grizzled? Too old? The hero was canonically only eight years older than the heroine, so hearing him narrate Zahariev’s POV chapters after the female narrator (who fit so seamlessly) threw me off sometimes. But maybe that’s just personal preference.

• Final Thoughts
I feel like I’m not the target audience for this, but sometimes I like a more fun, no-brainer read to relax. With this, though, I just felt like it didn’t give me anything to really like. The plot felt too shallow, the world-building too thin, and the characters felt flat. And while the mythology and themes had so much potential, it felt slapped on rather than thoughtfully explored.

I didn’t hate it. It was fine as an audiobook, but I’m pretty sure I would have liked it less if I’d only read it. Honestly, the audiobook saved a lot of this for me.



Thank you to RBmedia for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely DEVOURED THIS. Didn’t want to put it down. This was my first Scarlett St Clair book and its absolutely my sign to read more from her.

These characters and this world had me absolutely captivated. Obsessed. This book was such a good read - just what I needed!

I also LOVED the narrators for the audiobook - they were PERFECT castings.

WOW. This audio was absolutely phenomenal. Laura Horowitz’s narration of Lilith was absolutely flawless and Tristan Warden was a great Zahariev. I could not stop listening to this and this was just what a perfect audiobook is.

Thank you so much to Tandor Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of Terror at the Gates. I can’t wait for the next book.

Lilith will rise from the ashes of her former life in order to destroy the ancient power that stole everything she loves. Lilith is estranged from her family and finds refuge on the city of sin. She steals in order to make a living but in this city a woman is supposed to be silent and pious so she draws unwanted attention from some powerful families. After her buyer dies inspecting a stolen blade she must turn to the head of one of these families for help. They must embark on a journey to discover the true power running the world.

I loved this book, I thought it was interesting and engaging. I thought the urban elements were interesting and gave a bit of mafia vibes. I also thought the religious elements as a part of the world building added a lot to the story. The world structure of only women having magic but still be subservient gave an interesting dynamic and added to the rage the main character felt. I am interested to see where the story goes next.

4.5/5⭐️
Format: 🎧Audiobook

This topped all of the other books I have read by Scarlett St. Clair! This story was incredibly emotional at times and thought provoking, but also had it’s own heartfelt moments.

Lilith is my RIDE OR DIE. She is such a badass, but also has her emotional moments. It’s okay though because honestly same. She is not perfect, but I think that is what made me like her more. She is the embodiment of I’m going to do me and “I don’t care what you think” energy. Her evolution over the course of the story though is what truly drew me in and I think Lilith is a reminder that you can live the life you want to live not the one that is set for you.

If you are looking for that morally gray MMC that will kill someone who touches you then look no further than Zahariev! While the dynamic between Lilith and Zahariev starts a little slow, it is beautiful seeing how their relationship grows throughout the story.

Overall, I loved this book! It took me a minute to get into it as it has a slower start, but it eventually hooks you and you’re dying to get to the new chapter. It is an emotional roller coaster that I wish I could ride again and again.

Lastly, the narrators of this story were the cherry on top! They really brought the characters and world to life. Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the ALC!!

Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair

Yes, I am definitely loving this new series!

The plot - I was immediately sucked in
The MMC - is doing all the right protective obsessive things, while being super tall and hot
The FMC - Is a tad crazy and I love her for it

Lilith keeps doing things to put herself in danger and Zahariev is over here shaking his head like here we go again. Heaven help anyone who looks at her wrong because she is his soft spot.

The first 80% the book feels plot forward and then you get thrown spice after spice at the end. Followed by a tad more plot to give you a nice cliffhanger. Check your triggers there’s a specific moment in here that may trigger some emotionally (not a spicy trigger) Can’t wait to continue the series when book 2 comes out. Book 1 arrives July 8th! Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC.

If you loved Crescent City or City of Gods and Monsters then I think this will be your vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC. The beginning hooked me with an intriguing plot, was giving crescent city vibes, but the story lost steam halfway through. Scenes in the middle felt repetitive, especially with the FMC constantly crying in the MMC’s arms over her friends’ deaths. Loved the female narrator but the male narrator’s voice pulled me out of the story for some reason, I think sounded too old. Decent overall, just not as strong as it started. 3.25 stars.

I have one thing to say...

WHEN IS THE NEXT BOOK COMING OUT!!!!!

I loved this book. I was a little unsure when I first started but that quickly disappeared.
The writing, the storyline, the characters.. all was amazing.

you need a reason to read this? here is mine...

MFC - Strong, Tough women to isn't afraid to show her emotions.
MMC - Would burn the world for her...

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Scarlett St. Clair for the advanced audio copy of this book. I will 100%
buying the paperback and will be waiting for the update on the next installment.

Magic. Intrigue. Desire. Power.

❤️‍🔥Terror at the Gates❤️‍🔥
By Scarlett St. Clair
Book 1 of the Blood of Lilith series

I read this audiobook as an ALC via NetGalley & Tantor Audio. Thank you! 🙏🏻

This audiobook is dual narration. The story is told almost wholly from the female main character’s POV. The male main character only has parts between each chapter. Laura Horowitz is one of my favorite female audiobook narrators and she does yet another phenomenal job with this new book. Her different character representations are well done and easily differentiated. She reads with such passion and emotion. Her words flow easily and eloquently. Tristan Warden reads the MMC parts and he does a phenomenal job also. His voice is deep, sultry, and wonderful to listen to. His words flow nicely and articulately. I especially love the way he says Zahariev. I highly recommend this audiobook and both narrators.

From here this review is very long and detailed. Just know, if you don’t want to read it all, that this book is amazing and very much worth reading!

Terror at the Gates is a Romantasy and the first book of a new series, Blood of Lilith, by Scarlett St. Clair. It has heavy religious aspects from multiple religions. The society is wholly ran by the church who uses religion as a weapon with spiritual abuse, trauma, violence and oppression. Check trigger warnings if needed. There will be some big triggers for some people.

This book has dual POV, though the vast majority is through the POV of the FMC. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a small POV from the MMC.

The story takes place in Eden. Eden is ran by the church and the commission which consists of the archbishop and the head of each district. It is split up into 5 districts, from "godliest," richest & most prestigious to less than:
Hiram - Financialists ruled by Lucius Leviathan (Father of the FMC, Lilith),
Temple City - Industrialists ruled by Victor Viridian,
Galant - Merchants ruled by Serafin Sanctius,
Akkadia - Artists ruled by Absalom Asahel,
Nineveh - City of Sin ruled by Zahariev Zareth, the MMC.

The FMC is Lilith Leviathan. She is the daughter of the leader of Hiram, the most important, richest, "godliest" district of Eden. She has a terrible relationship with her mother who is just awful to her at every opportunity. She gained her Elohai sex magic powers at age 18, left home not long after & ran away to Ninevah. Zahariev, being the ruler of Nineveh, agreed to let her stay, keep an eye on her and make sure she stays safe in the seedy, dangerous district. She's had a crush on Zahariev for a long time, but never acts on it. Her father and the head of the church agreed to allow her to leave Hiram for Ninevah believing she would get there and realize how good she had it and run back home. After 2 years away, they are getting impatient with her and begin with threats if she does not return soon to fulfill her duty to marry. She is a very defiant and independent woman, knows what she wants & does not want for her life, & has no plans to ever return to Hiram.

Zahariev Zareth is the MMC. He rules Ninevah as head of the Zareth family follwing the death of his father and has one younger brother named Cassius. He is one of the most feared of the five bosses, even without a wife and her magic. He uses information as a weapon against those who think to cross him. It seems to me he runs it in a way similar to the mob. Ninevah is a rather seedy, dangerous district full of strip clubs, smugglers etc. It contains the South Gate, which becomes important, and borders the canal between Ninevah and Akkadia. It is obvious he is smitten with Lilith who he calls Lo, or more endearing, “Little Love.” I love that nickname. He is always there for her, backing her, helping her in literally every way he can, and is a shoulder for her to cry on when she needs it. They have always been in each other's life. It’s obvious early on that she takes advantage of Zahariev all the time, but he does not seem to mind. She can be petulant and pushes all his buttons all the time. So you can say their relationship is already full of fire. 🔥

Being who he is and being who she is, Zahariev and Lilith cant marry or have a romantic relationship. Her father and the commission would never allow two heirs to be together. So, even though they may both secretly want it, they have never touched each other in a romantic way (ok of course they end up very much touching each other in ALL the ways ;). ❤️‍🔥

Her roommate is Colette who goes by Coco. She works as a dancer at Praise, a nightclub owned by Zahariev. She is the definition of a BFF to Lilith. She brings home a tiny kitten that quickly becomes a part of Lilith's circle too, named Cherub. There is mention that Cherub is Lilith's "Familiar." Lilith & Zahariev have wonderful married friends named Gabirel & Esther who are expecting a baby boy, Liam. Lilith does not get along very well with Zahariev's brother Cassius.

One thing that I noticed about Lilith was everyone in her close circle of friends treats her with such care and love and support. It's like they inherently or subconsciously know she is an important part of the world and take care to treat her as such.

Elohai is the name of the bloodline that gave each family their magic and the right to rule their district. The magic is only present in the women. The women are subservient to the men therefore the women are not allowed to use their magic without some kind of male oversight. Since Lilith is unmarried, her father would dictate how and when she uses it. With hers being sex or lust magic, he did not want anything to do with it. So, the men marry the magically gifted women in order to control and use their magic. The woman's father will pick their daughter's husband to be the heir of the family. The church says the women's subservient place in society is due to the tempting of the First Man. Because of this, women must be punished, controlled, and not be trusted.

The figurehead of the church is Archbishop Alarich Lisk. He leads worship in the First Temple in Hiram & lives on the premises of the church. The church uses the Book of Splendor as the religious doctrine that rules the society. Lilith has a horrible past with Lisk that started at age 9 and is one of the main reasons she left Hiram. Lisk is corrupt, abusive, and dangerous.

Now that's all out of the way, the plot line. At the beginning of the story, Lilith is using her lust magic in one of Zahariev's clubs to "acquire" things to sell on Smuggler's Row for money to pay her bills. It’s a dangerous way, but since Zahariev won’t give her a job dancing it’s all she can do to make rent. Her magic works by locking on to someone’s lust creating a type of thrall she can use to make people do things or tell her things they normally wouldn't. She likes to get religious relics, they seem to bring the most money. This particular night she sees a promising, bejeweled dagger on the hip of a man so she approaches him to get it. It does not take her long to get him to give her the dagger. He tells her he stole it off of a priest before killing him. The dagger is a big part of the story. When she goes to try and sell it, the buyer in the shop she uses keels over after touching it. The man she stole it from is also found dead. After coming in contact with the blade, she begins having intense, realistic dreams that continue throughout the book. She finds out it is one of 7 that together make up a magical sword, the Defender. The main plot line has to do with other gods being locked behind the gates by the one god they worship, the Messiah. Some of this story is a little hard for me to follow, not because the author, but because I believe it is a bit over my head. That or the author has written it in a way to keep you guessing. I need to take some better notes on the gods, who & where they are, some information obtained from prophetic words from Lilith's dreams, Tori (a possibly mentally ill citizen of Nineveh who would yell out about the gods while out in public), a witch, and Lilith's mother. I need to understand it better because what everything builds up to and what happens at the end........ holy cliffhanger!!!

I have read all of the Hades x Persephone's finished series, what has been released in the Adrian x Isolde series, and both released standalone Fairytale Retellings. I have loved every single book I have read from this author. This new book is such an amazing start to this series! I recommend reading it and all of her other books! Whew this was a long review. More like a book report!

Happy Reading! 📚📚❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

👀👀👀❤️❤️❤️I WAS SO HOOKED

From the cover I was in love. Then when I saw the approval from Net Galley I was SO EXCITED! Thank you so much to Scarlett St Clair for writing something I have been waiting for!

Every character in this book is enjoyable. The MMC is something I didn't even know I wanted. The daddy issues just poured out of me & into my AirPods. Listening to the way the narrators pour their hearts into this was amazing.

Every piece of the plot touched my soul & made me finish this book in one day. I told my family to leave me alone and just listened and listened 🤣.

The only piece that bothered me was that when the moment hit, the plot kinda went away & the verbiage got real spicy real quick. Up until that point I was so in it. I ended up fast forwarding through almost one whole chapter (towards the end) because the wording was just annoying.

Other than that, I now want to name a kitten Cherub & will wait happily for book number 2! (if thats on the agenda?)

Loved it! A stunning reimagining of Lilith’s story, Terror at the Gates blends mythology, biblical lore, and neo-noir vibes into a dark, compelling urban fantasy that feels fresh and fearless.

Scarlett St. Clair’s writing always pulls me in, and this was no exception. The world is intense: a patriarchal, dystopian society haunted by ghostly demons (think Ghostbusters slime —only terrifying) and laced with dark mafia undertones. The genre mashup works really well, creating a setting that’s both gritty and immersive.

Lilith and Zahariev completely stole the show for me! Their slow-burn, frenemies-to-lovers dynamic seeped with angst, chemistry, and raw emotion. You can feel the weight of their shared past, making their connection and intimacy feel deeply earned and beautifully written. If like me, you loved the Hades x Persephone romance in A Touch of Darkness, you’ll be hooked here too!

The story doesn’t shy away from tough themes of trauma, grief, power, and moral ambiguity —but it handles them with nuance. It’s action-packed and emotionally charged, but never overwhelming thanks to Scarlett’s deft storytelling. All the characters are interesting and likeable - I adored a certain little kitten and the found family vibes.

The magic system felt unique yet accessible, though I wished for a bit more depth and clarity in some of the world-building. Still, as the first book in a series, it sets the stage well—and I tore through the pages (helped along by the audiobook from NetGalley). The ending definitely left a mark —I can’t wait for book two.

Huge thanks to Sourcebooks UK for the physical ARCs (one for me, one for a giveaway!) and the audiobook via NetGalley.

4.75 stars